Richlands outlasts Northside in volleyball

Richlands' Brooke Monssen watches the ball after sending it over the net where Northside's Chasity Fair waits to play in during the teams' nonconference match Thursday night. The Wildcats won in five sets.

Rick Scoppe/The Daily News

By Rick Scoppe-Sports Editor/The Daily News

Published: Friday, August 23, 2013 at 10:30 AM.

RICHLANDS — It was a match that at times would have made volleyball aficionados cringe — when they were not smiling and applauding at the heart and passion left on the floor along with a heavy dose of sweat.

In a match Thursday night pitting two young coaches out to build their long-struggling programs into winners, Richlands outlasted Northside in five hard-fought, grueling sets, with the final tally 24-26, 25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 15-13.

The loss left first-year coach Kelly Schulz in tears as the Monarchs (0-3) nearly pulled off their first victory after going winless last season. And while pleased with the victory, Richlands coach Ashton Allgood wasn’t all that happy with how the Wildcats (1-1) played.

“We talk about forcing errors a lot and giving them heavy hits to force some errors. We had so many errors that it was not fun to watch,” said Allgood, whose club won only two matches last year — both over Northside.

“We got a win out of this, but as far as most of our play it was not us. We’re a lot stronger than we have been in the past. We’re missing our strongest middle so that probably didn’t help. But overall it was a good match because it gives us a win in the book, but as far as the way we played I’m not happy.”

Schulz, meanwhile, looked like she was going to pull her hair out or jump for joy as her Monarchs gave her plenty of highs as well as lows behind a tall frontline that caused Richlands problems.

“I get pretty feisty and excited,” she said. “We didn’t win a match at all last year and, like I was telling the girls, I played at Northside for three years and we never went five sets. It wasn’t this exciting. I’m proud of the way they played because I feel people normally don’t get threatened by Northside.

RICHLANDS — It was a match that at times would have made volleyball aficionados cringe — when they were not smiling and applauding at the heart and passion left on the floor along with a heavy dose of sweat.

In a match Thursday night pitting two young coaches out to build their long-struggling programs into winners, Richlands outlasted Northside in five hard-fought, grueling sets, with the final tally 24-26, 25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 15-13.

The loss left first-year coach Kelly Schulz in tears as the Monarchs (0-3) nearly pulled off their first victory after going winless last season. And while pleased with the victory, Richlands coach Ashton Allgood wasn’t all that happy with how the Wildcats (1-1) played.

“We talk about forcing errors a lot and giving them heavy hits to force some errors. We had so many errors that it was not fun to watch,” said Allgood, whose club won only two matches last year — both over Northside.

“We got a win out of this, but as far as most of our play it was not us. We’re a lot stronger than we have been in the past. We’re missing our strongest middle so that probably didn’t help. But overall it was a good match because it gives us a win in the book, but as far as the way we played I’m not happy.”

Schulz, meanwhile, looked like she was going to pull her hair out or jump for joy as her Monarchs gave her plenty of highs as well as lows behind a tall frontline that caused Richlands problems.

“I get pretty feisty and excited,” she said. “We didn’t win a match at all last year and, like I was telling the girls, I played at Northside for three years and we never went five sets. It wasn’t this exciting. I’m proud of the way they played because I feel people normally don’t get threatened by Northside.

“But the fact is that now they’ve proved that we can (play). Every single game we keep getting better. So our next win is right around the corner and I’m excited about that, and I’m excited the girls played so hard.”

Richlands led by as many as seven points in the first set only to see the Monarchs use a 12-3 run for the win, with the final two points coming on one of eight kills by Brittany Hoxie and a return into the net by the Wildcats.

Richlands rebounded to claim the second set, which saw neither team lead by more than four, and then dominate the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and pushing its advantage to as many as 14 en route to an 11-point win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

But Northside forced a fifth set by rallying from a six-point deficit behind its tall frontline, which includes Alexis Rowe and Chasity Fair along with high-flying Hoxie and Taya Jones. The Monarchs also took advantage of some miscommunication among the Wildcats that saw five balls fall to the floor uncontested.

“That was basically not calling the ball soon enough and not calling for help when they needed it,” Schulz said. “And then when I asked them to call for help when they needed it, they weren’t ready. That’s something that’s not us, and that was one of the big uncharacteristic things that has not been us this season.”

The decisive fifth set was equally tight, with the score tied at 13 after two consecutive aces by Taylor Martin to help the Wildcats rally from a 13-10 deficit. Richlands clinched the set and match on a pair of misplays by Northside.

“I didn’t think we played very well as a team tonight,” Allgood said. “There were a lot of balls that dropped on the floor that wouldn’t have most other nights. But they definitely gave us a run for the money. I was surprised at the strength of their blocks. But I did like the fact that the girls never gave up.”

Allgood is having to instill that into her players as she tries to build the program.

“Richlands is a team we always think we’re going to lose,” she said. “We’ve been that team for so long that it’s almost hard for us to win. But we’re getting there. Our team is a lot stronger this year. I was really surprised that we didn’t dominate a little bit more than we did.”

While she saw plenty to like from her team, Schutz said her players’ “passion” stood out and “how bad they wanted it.”

“We have the makings of a championship team within the next two years,” she said. “I’m not ruling out playoffs this year, especially after watching this game. And other teams shouldn't rule us out, either. We have yet to play a 2-A school like we are. It’s always been 3-A schools. We can’t wait now. Now we’re just pumped for our game against Lejeune on Monday.”